de-minimis: October 2017

31 October 2017

29 October 2017

martin carr - 'damocles'

Ex-lead singer of the Boo Radleys, Martin Carr, has a new album out and this track from it just rocks.

art department - 'vampire nightclub feat. seth troxler'

Love this tune.

daniele luppi & parquet courts - 'soul and cigarette'

Now this tune is absolutely brilliant.

adrian crowley - 'the wish'

Reminds me a lot of Bill Callahan. This is a good thing.

28 October 2017

school of seven bells - 'secret days'

Now this is a great tune.

fever ray - 'red trails'

The Fever Ray album is mind-blowingly good.

out lines - 'buried guns'

Superb stuff from Scottish golf outfit Out Lines.

20 October 2017

fever ray - 'to the moon and back'

Huge news. Fever Ray is back.

19 October 2017

soul dhamma - 'flower (king britt's underwater garden dub)'

Nice.

boy pablo - 'everytime'

This was a recommendation from my eldest son. He's got great taste in music.

bully - 'losing'

Love a tune with attitude. This has it by the bucketful.

esmerine - 'la plume des armes'

Top tune from the Montreal collective, taken from their brand new album.

brandon can't dance - 'pop queen of the teen scene'

Tune!

hiss golden messenger - 'john the gun'

An artist that I've admired for some time now.

conor oberst - 'gossamer thin'

If there's a more astute songwriter around at the moment then I've not heard them.

laibach - 'als geist'

As concept albums go 'Also Sprach Zarathustra' is a quite stunning album and let's face it there's probably no bigger or more difficult concept than the philosophy of Nietzsche.

chuck prophet - 'we got up and played'

His 2017 album 'Bobby Fuller Died For Your Sins' is certainly a grower.

ilk - 'salty weather'

Taken from the Londoners' new album 'Y U' this is a great tune.

peter perrett - 'take me home'

Brilliant tune.

18 October 2017

the higher primates - 'taking in the summer'

All the way back to 1980 for this track.

bloc party - 'different drugs'

Nice.

mura masa - 'messy love'

This slipped under the radar far too quickly.

róisín murphy - 'thoughts wasted'

A great tune from last year.

portishead - 'it's a fire'

One of the lesser known tracks from Dummy.

mark olson - 'gravity loss'

From the lead singer of the Jayhawks and taken from his solo album 'Spokeswoman of the Bright Sun'.

jeffrey martin - 'billy burroughs'

Not too many songs about authors and this is rather beautiful.

morrissey - 'spent the day in bed'

It's not one of his strongest tracks, that's for sure but certainly interesting to hear such a prominent keyboard accompaniment in one of his tracks for a change. The less said about the video the better.

diron animal - 'love family'

This new album from Diron is quite superb.

17 October 2017

jagwar ma - 'give me a reason'

Got a lot of time for this band.

tunabunny - 'boundless informant'

Brilliant!

nico yaryan - 'your love never lets me down'

Now this is rather good.

darkstar - 'black ghost (feat gaika)'

Let's take a turn for the mysterious.

beak> - 'the cornubia'

Tune!

nev cottee - 'be on your way'

This is just too good.

yumi zouma - 'text from sweden'

This is an exquisite slice of electro-pop.

the tragically hip - 'hot mic'

One from last year. It's a bloody great tune.

republica - 'ready to go'

Ah Britpop! So much to answer for.

unkle - 'i need something stronger'

From one of the greatest albums of modern times.

radical face - 'sunn'

Top tune.

abram shook - 'device'

A lovely little trippy number.

faithless - 'god is a dj'

He's also a Brighton and Hove Albion fan.

terror bird - 'the keeper (v.1)'

My favourite Canadian singer is back.

nerina pallot - 'stay lucky'

The new album is a little middle of the road but sometimes that is exactly where you want to be driving and right now as I blog this from my sofa, it's a great place to be.

king krule- 'czech one'

The new album sees King Krule mining deep into jazz territory. I'm not usually a fan of that genre but he's sold me on this album.

mgmt - 'little dark age'

Brand new video for this MGMT track.

ashley shadow - 'blurred views'

One from last year from a Canadian singer who knows how to write a stunning tune.

tricky - 'contradictive'

The man is a genius.

entrance - 'summer's child'

An artist that defies description, this is a great track from his 2017 album 'Book of Changes'.

new order - 'salvation'

Taken from 'Low Life'.

16 October 2017

zola jesus - 'soak'

This is a remarkable tune from a stunning new album.

cut copy - 'no fixed destination'

Australian pop really is in the rudest of health.

william patrick corgan - 'processional'

I was never a big Smashing Pumpkins fan but this solo album from lead singer Billy Corgan is an instant hit.

depeche mode - 'poor man'

I'm starting to warm to their new album.

washed out - 'hard to say goodbye [lone remix]'

Sort of trippy breakbeat. Nice!

hey charlie - 'cheer up princess'

So much attitude. This is taken from the London trio's new EP 'Young and Lonesome'.

chloe jane - 'people like you'

I like this a lot. Very radio-friendly but lots to get your teeth into.

clap your hands say yeah - 'better off'

Top tune.

sivu - 'drastic change'

Now this is the goods stuff.

the verve - 'this time'

Tune!

cults - 'with my eyes closed'

Dream pop anyone?

sandra kolstad - 'hurricane'

This tune is rather apt given the weather today.

hôy la - 'resist'

Brand new track from Norwegian artist, Hôy. One for fans of Beth Gibbons/Portishead.

oh wonder - 'overgrown'

Their 2017 album 'Ultralife' is extremely well-crafted. Seriously needs checking out.

a giant dog - 'roller coaster'

Let's rock!

john and beverly martin - 'head and heart (acoustic version)'

The man may well have had his demons but he was one hell of a songwriter.

juanita stein - 'not paradise'

If laidback, smoky deliveries are your thing then this tune is definitely your thing.

gorillaz - 'out of body (ft. kilo kish, zebra katz & imani vonshà)'

A great track on an otherwise mediocre album.

jim james - 'here in spirit'

Better known as the lead singer of My Morning Jacket, this is taken from Jim James' 2016 album 'Eternally Even'.

night moves - 'drum test'

A lovely spaced out tune.

shanti celeste - 'strung up'

A few years old now but still very nice.

lorde - 'liability (reprise)'

Just beautiful.

hope sandoval and the warm inventions - 'liquid lady'

One from last year by the incomparable Hope Sandoval.

fufanu - 'tokyo'

Just how many brilliant Icelandic bands are there? Here's another.

bonobo - 'grains'

My commute this morning was made so pleasant upon this popping up on my iPod.

art feynman - 'two minor'

Oh, so good!

sundowners - 'find out for yourself'

I'm quite in love with this tune.

hazel english - 'birthday'

I'm a sucker for a jangly 80s indie sound.

the horrors - 'it's a good life'

Their last album was a bit underwhelming but their latest 'V' is a great return to form.

holly throsby - 'mountain'

Her 2017 album 'After A Time' is one of my favourites from this year.

kim janssen - 'actor'

Another well-crafted downtempo tune. His new album is well worth checking out too.

king gizzard & the lizard wizard - 'altered beast iv'

I love, love, love these mad Australians.

ladylike lily - 'bain de minuit'

Another French artist who really should be huge news.

sweet baboo - 'badminton'

Now this is quite delightful.

fake laugh - 'kinda girl'

A lazy, hazy tune that's perfect for a Monday lunchtime.

ride - 'home is a feeling'

Morning! I love this tune.

15 October 2017

tim buckley - 'song slowly song'

I think I'll sign off with this track from Buckley's first album.

pale honey - 'get these things out of my head'

The Swedish duo have a new album out that's very brash, very lively and very good.

nina simone - 'four women'

There is always time for Nina Simone.

lydia loveless - 'lover's spat'

Superb as ever from Columbus Singer, Lydia Loveless.

sébastien tellier - 'shooters'

The French producer/musical genius returns with a new soundtrack for the TV series 'A Girl Is A Gun'. This track is quite magnificent.

beck - 'up all night'

This tune, buried away in his new album is one of the bright spots in an upbeat but otherwise pedestrian collection of tunes. There's very little to hang your hat on with many easily forgettable tunes.

courtney barnett and kurt vile - 'blue cheese'

The new album gets a big thumbs up from me. Anyone expecting the ironic, bittersweet wordplay from Barnett will be surprised with this collaboration. It's got a much more conventional feel to it, lyrics-wise and Barnett's delivery is straight down the middle rather than the witty asides as she shares the tunes with Vile.

The first track from the album is the opener 'Over Everything' but this Americana-tinged track 'Blue Cheese' recorded for KCRW is my favourite.